Chattanooga, TN
When I returned from my military service in 1973, we moved right back into the same farmhouse on Woodside farm in the middle of 160 acres of horse and cattle farming. On occasion, we would travel to Florida just to find the sunshine. It was a long trip and we would stop in Chattanooga at the East Ridge exit to spend the night if we stopped at all. I never really got a chance to explore the city or the surrounding area. A week ago we left Tampa for the first time since last March when the pandemic sidelined us. We love Tampa but were both ready to get out for a bit and I needed to stoke my inspiration gland with travel. We were headed to the woods of East Tennessee but want to make the transition gradually. We rented a vacation rental for three night in Chattanooga to check it out. WHAT A PLEASANT SURPRISE. First, Chattanooga was one of the first cities to install high speed Internet as a city service. It has earned the name “GIG CITY” because of that vision. By the luck of the draw the house we rented was just at the base of Lookout Mountain and steps away from something called the Guild Trail. That turned out to be an improved hiking and biking trail that goes ¾ of the way around the mountain. We walked about 2.5 miles of the total 5 mile trail. It was an amazing find right in Chattanooga. There were attractions all around us. We ended up in the parking lot of Ruby Falls. The trail went beneath the Lookout Mountain Incline. We got a chance to wave at the folks as they rode up the side of the mountain. Technically the small house was advertised as being in St. Elmo which is a small improvement district about 3.5 miles south of the city center. It was an easy drive the next day to explore the city. We crossed the Tennessee River on the Market Street bridge and turned back downhill to the river front park known as Coolidge Park and the Tennessee Riverfront walkway. Part of that whole experience is a former railroad bridge that the city decided to make a pedestrian walkway known as simply “the Pedestrian Bridge”. It connects one side of the river to the other by foot and is for bikes and foot traffic together. What an amazing and visionary idea. The downtown connected for vehicular and non-motorized traffic within blocks of each other. Connecting is a “THING” in Chattanooga. Whether it is on the Internet or on foot. Interstate 24 and Interstate 75 are undergoing massive construction currently that is incredibly disruptive but with the river, rail, and two interstates coming together, it was always going to be dicey. When that is done, Chattanooga will be connected at least by roadway easily to Atlanta to the southeast, Knoxville to the northeast, and Birmingham to the southwest, and Nashville to the northwest. That is extremely centrally located. If you haven’t ever considered visiting Chattanooga change your mind.
